Currently, the White House’s website under George W. Bush is “frozen in time,” and is used for historical archive use only.
Links are not responsive, but the main page is forever the photo of the Bushes, leaving the White House, to greeting the Obamas. The caption below reading:
His Facebook Page has over 2 million likes, and lists him as a Public Figure.
It was launched in May of 2010, four months after Barack Obama had moved-into the White House.
In September of 2010, The George W. Bush Presidential Center was launched. A foundation by the Bush family that aims to “inspires ideas, innovation and action for a freer and better world.”
With over 50, 000 likes, the Bush Center uses its facebook page to connect with fans and promote their cause.
The website gears as a hub for those interested to go to understand and support the goals of George W. Bush post his presidency. A Youtube channel and and Twitter account are linked to the center, allowing for the organization to better reach followers.
In the case of John Kerry, his social media arm is stretching a little more, and is more active predominately due to the fact that he still holds a public office as Senator for Massachusetts.
Senator John Kerry’s official website is still active, being used to inform Massachusetts voters and the public alike on his political activity.
On Facebook, Kerry had created his page in December of 2007 – three years after he ran for office. With nearly 18,000 likes, his reach isn’t as extensive as Bush’s (most likely due to the fact that he wasn’t president) showing how he was unable to maintain a grip on the public’s attention. This is a staunch difference to his Twitter account, where he has over 50,000 followers, but only 461 tweets.
Where John Kerry is most active is his Youtube page, where he has posted over 50,000 videos.
Interestingly enough, he had joined Youtube in February of 2007, signaling that he had joined the “social networking” sphere in one swoop, the same year he became chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Unlike Bush, who is using social media as a means to promote his own actions, the move to online on Kerry’s part was a way to connect with voters, secure his seat on an important Senate committee, and to maintain relevance in the public’s persona. Again, something Former President George Bush does not require anymore, as being a president with a final approval rating of 22% is pretty hard to forget.
